Skip to main content

Death and illness during a pandemic

I have not blogged recently. It has been difficult to keep my thoughts together. There are many reasons, I think. The Covid situation is an underlying cause. My anxiety about this makes me too lethargic and sad.

In this midst of Covid, a friend’s 17-year-old son drowned. Watching my son deal with his first death of a friend has been disconcerting and heartbreaking. Grieving is a personal thing and the anguish is even worse when having a funeral is not an option.

During this horrible month, we have also been dealing with my mother-in-law’s deteriorating health. Trying to adhere to social distancing is tough enough yet struggling to find the best care has been overwhelming. Care facilities are not safe in these days even if those places took new patients. The medical systems are overwhelmed. We are overwhelmed as well.

The next issue are my damnable headaches. My doctor thinks they are tension headaches, and I agree. With this surreal worldwide condition and the emotional toll of death and sickness, my headaches are daily. Nothing really helps.

Woe is me. It could be worse of course. I keep telling myself that. However, even typing this short blog post is causing a throbbing headache.


Comments

Rebecca Dutton said…
A surreal level of stress.

Popular posts from this blog

What is wrong with us! A lot: Aphasia, Apraxia, and Dysarthria

This morning, from 10:30 to Noon, at St. Lukes in Meridian Idaho, I participated in the “Aphasia, Apraxia, and Dysarthria Support Group” started a year ago through Idaho State University. We meet weekly.  So, what is wrong with us? Aphasia is the name given to a collection of language disorders caused by damage to the brain. A requirement for a diagnosis of aphasia is that, prior to the illness or injury, the person's language skills were normal. The difficulties of people with aphasia can range from occasional trouble finding words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write, but does not affect intelligence. This also affects visual language such as sign language . The term "aphasia" implies a problem with one or more functions that are essential and specific to language function. It is not usually used when the language problem is a result of a more peripheral motor or sensory difficulty, such as paralysis affecting the speech muscles or a general hear

College of Western Idaho should offer a Bachelor of Applied Science Degrees (BAS) in Business Administration

Last month I was invited to attend Gov. Brad Little’s announcement of his “Idaho LAUNCH” program which aims to prepare Idaho’s students for Idaho’s workforce needs. Idaho LAUNCH provides grants for education and training programs. Legislators and a host of businesses participated in Gov. Little’s announcement. As a former member and chair of the College of Western Idaho Board of Trustees, I was pleased to lend my support for this needed program. At the same time, I am fully supporting CWI’s goal to deliver a Bachelor of Applied Science Degrees (BAS) in Business Administration for under $20,000. I am pleased to see some many businesses join the effort. The Idaho LAUNCH and CWI’s BAS in Business Administration is a “win-win” for everyone especially students who need that targeted education to succeed. The Idaho LAUNCH program received legislative approval and students are applying. However, CWI’s proposal needs the State Board of Education approval. THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION WILL DECI

Phantom Blindness and Taking a Break after Strokes

I met with my eye doctor last week about taking some time off from my vision therapy. I have been doing therapy since my stroke almost two and a half years ago. I am tired, and a need a break. My doctor said, “This is completely understandable. Take some time off.” At the appointment, my doctor tested my vision. Because of the strokes, my vision was affected, and I have a problem in my field of vision on the right side. I have a deficit with my right side peripheral vision. However, it is getting better. During the test, I told him that I “sense things on the right side of my peripheral vision.” It seems that I know that something is there, but I cannot really distinguish what it is. He told me that there is a body of thought describing phantom vision or phantom blindness. A Polish researcher, L. Bieganowski, described this phantom blindness this way:    “The subject of the paper is the phenomenon of phantom vision. It occurs among the blind (or almost blind) and is